A through-wall air-conditioner unit is one that mounts in an opening in a wall of a building, such as a home, hotel, motel, apartment, townhouse, office, etc. The opening extends from the exterior of the wall to an interior space within the building.
To provide for more convenient installation of the air-conditioner unit, and service and/or replacement of the unit when needed, a metal sleeve that is open at both ends lines the wall opening. Because the typical air-conditioner unit has a rectangular shape, the sleeve has an open rectangular transverse cross section just slightly larger than that of the unit, allowing the unit to be slid into and out of the sleeve, typically through the end that opens to the building interior. The outside perimeter of the sleeve is typically sealed to the wall opening in any suitably appropriate way.
The interior end of the air-conditioner unit contains controls and the interior air circuit. Interior room air is drawn through an air inlet and passes across an evaporator where it is cooled. It is then blown back into the interior.
A condenser is located at the exterior end of the unit where it is open to the outside air through the open exterior end of the sleeve.
The refrigeration circuit comprises a compressor that sucks refrigerant through the evaporator and forces it into the condenser where heat is rejected to the outside air.
During non-air-conditioning seasons, it may be desirable to cover the exterior end of the unit, particularly for functional reasons. If the clearance between the unit and the sleeve is not fully sealed, winds or drafts may pass through between exterior and interior, occasioning heat loss from the interior. Hence, covering the exterior can reduced heat loss due to less than perfect sealing between the unit and the sleeve.
Covers are sometimes homemade without a great deal of concern for their exterior appearance. Homemade covers may look unattractive and be constructed less than perfectly in which case they may not fully block all air leaks. In a building that has multiple dwelling or office units each equipped with one or more through-wall air-conditioner units, such as an apartment or office building, individual tenants who do not cover their units may experience drafts and heat loss, or if they do cover them, they may do so in different ways that can result in substantial variations in appearance from the outside of the building. The individual covers and lack of uniformity may be considered unsightly and detract from the appearance which a property owner desires in order to attract new tenants.
Various forms of covers for air-conditioner units are disclosed in the following U.S. patents that were developed in preliminary searching: U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,019,556; 4,308,905; 4,325,229; 4,332,114; 4,625,784; 4,745,769; 4,788,805; 5,125,197; 5,307,849; 6,397,617; and 6,430,954. None of those patents is seen to show or suggest the inventive cover.